The Burning
by Avoncliffe
Summary: Disappointed with the TV episode? Perhaps this would have been more appropriate - perhaps even more satisfying.


Having tried to outrun Dempsey, Coltrane was now down on his haunches, breathing hard and training his revolver on him.

Dempsey, his Magnum pointing directly at his nemesis, was on one knee, frozen to the spot.

He was a clear target.

Coltrane pulled the trigger but the gun just clicked. He pulled it again and again but he was out of bullets.

Dempsey slowly got to his feet, his eyes boring into the man who had tried to kill him in New York months earlier.

This the man who had turned Dempsey's partner of five years, Joey, against him and who Dempsey had shot dead in self defence.

"It's first degree Dempsey," Coltrane shouted.

"Whose Dempsey?" he replied, now acting as his alter ego, Jonnie Lupino.

"Nice idea, but you'll never get away with it." said Coltrane.

Dempsey stared at him, a shadow passing across his eyes, "you didn't have to kill the girl."

"Go on, you haven't got what it takes!"

Dempsey raised his gun, his eyes blazing with hatred and cocked the trigger. At the point of no return a sudden shout from behind startled him.

"Dempsey!"

Visions of Joey collapsing with Dempsey's bullet in him flashed into his mind as he turned.

For God's sake it was Harry! She was alive!

In a split second, unable to stop the bullet meant for Coltrane, he raised his gun and fired into the sky.

Harry stood there, legs apart, both arms raised, hands holding her gun and pointing it directly at him.

Confusion raged in his brain as he turned back to Coltrane, once more the burning hatred in his eyes focussing on him. Once more he aimed his gun.

"Drop it Dempsey, it isn't worth it!" she shouted.

His hand was shaking, Coltrane's eyes stared back at him.

"I care about you Dempsey!" shouted Harry,"but if you fire that gun I swear I'll shoot you!"

The seconds ticked by in an eternity as both Harry and Coltrane stared at Dempsey who stood there, gun still raised but fighting the urge to fire.

Slowly he came to his senses and lowered the weapon, whereupon Harry rushed to his side, laying a calming hand on his arm.

As the police dragged Coltrane away, Dempsey glared at him, his thoughts interrupted by Harry, who, as usual, could read his mind.

"You didn't kill Joey - you didn't kill him!" she urged, " Coltrane did!"

Dempsey studied her beautiful face, concern emblazoned across it, her ocean blue eyes searching his.

"Boy it's good to see you." said Dempsey.

Her eyes softened. Was that love he saw in them?

A little later, as the rest of the gang were driven away in a fleet of police cars, Harry was sitting alone on a low wall clearly deep in thought.

As Dempsey went to join her, Chas turned to Spikings remarking, "Nothing to stop him going back to the States now, Guv."

Spikings glanced over at them, then looked at Chas.

"I wouldn't bet on that."

Dempsey sat down next to Harry and looked at her. She returned his gaze, unable to hide the relief that he was safe.

"You said you cared for me." said Dempsey.

"I suppose you'll be going back to New York now," she answered, deliberately side stepping his statement.

"Well if you cared for me you wouldn't want me to, would you, princess?"

She knew now that she loved him.

For weeks he'd been in deep cover and out of contact. In that time she'd shed many tears at the thought of him being exposed and subsequently murdered.

He was at the heart of a powerful Mafia gang, posing as a down and out hustler, Jonnie Lupino and had infiltrated them by getting close to Myra, the female head of the US crime organisation.

Part of his assignment had meant he needed to strike up a relationship with her and at one point, had to discuss this with Harry.

She vividly recalled how her stomach had turned over at the thought of him being intimate with her, visions of him lying naked in bed next to her coursing through her imagination and causing her heart to beat so fiercely it hurt!

Yes, that was when she knew.

But to admit it to him? That was a different matter.

She knew he cared for her, he'd made that pretty clear over the weeks and months they had worked together, but she didn't know him.

Maybe he loved the chase but once he'd caught his prey, his interest would evaporate.

When she'd seen him about to kill Coltrane and knowing that that would have finished his career and put him behind bars for a long time, she couldn't help blurting out that she cared for him.

Was that something she would regret for the rest of her life?

Dempsey was still waiting for an answer to his last question.

"Listen angel," he said. "London is my home now. And you're the reason."

She was looking intently at him, her heart beginning to beat an ever faster rhythm and it was pounding so loud as he continued to speak, she thought he must be able to hear it.

"When I got to Butch, he told me you'd been shot to death. That Coltrane and his hoodlums had murdered you." he continued," I went kinda cold, all the fight went out of me, I just wanted to curl up and die. 'Cos, you see, I can't imagine my life without you in it. Then I was angry and all I wanted to do was kill that sonofabitch! Then when you shouted out to me, I couldn't believe you were alive. And that's when I knew."

"Knew?" she asked, holding her breath.

"Yeah," he said, reaching for her hand. "that's when I knew I'd fallen in love with you Harry."

She let the air out of her lungs with a long sigh and gripped his hand.

Her eyes began to water and she quickly looked round to see if anyone was watching.

They were alone, the rest of the team having left without them noticing.

"And I love you too, James." she said."when you were out of contact for so long, that's when I ..." he cut her short by pulling her to him and kissing her with such passion she almost melted.

"Your place or mine?" he asked.

"Mine," she said, "I've an ice cold magnum of '76 Crystal champagne waiting to be opened for a very special occasion."

...


End file.
